National News

Wyo. Senator to Try to Bring Back Firing Squads

by Kate Seamons, Newser Staff

(NEWSER) – That there is a shortage of lethal injection drugs is not news, but a Wyoming senator's response to the situation is. Republican state Sen. Bruce Burns yesterday very simply pointed to state law, which commands a gas chamber to be used if those drugs aren't accessible. Except Wyoming doesn't have "an operating gas chamber," and Burns sees the construction of one as too pricey, so he would like to suggest a Plan C: death by firing squad. "I consider frankly the gas chamber to be cruel and unusual, so I went with firing squad because they also have it in Utah," said Burns, who adds that he also picked it because it's such a cheap option.